From Philly to Prague:

Guidelines for Taking Classes in Prague

Fall Semester, 2003

 

            We are now beginning our second year of our partnership with the University of New York/Prague (UNYP) to offer the Master’s in Professional Communication and Public Relations degree. Students currently enrolled in La Salle University’s Master’s in Professional Communication program in Philadelphia can take a course in this program.  While I think this arrangement offers some real benefits to students in our current program, it also comes with risks and some restrictions.  This document lays out those guidelines. 

 

Schedule, Fall Term, 2003

The following courses will be offered at UNYP during the Fall Semester, 2003. 

Dates

Course

Instructor

Oct. 31-Nov. 2

Nov. 7-9

COM 613: Approaches to PR

Dr. Michael Smith

Dec. 12-14

Dec. 19-21

COM 623: Writing for Media and Promotion

UNYP Staff (To be announced)

Jan. 2-4**

Jan. 9-11

COM 633:  Writing for Publication

Professor John Kennedy

 

In each of these courses, you should expect to begin working on the course material two weeks before the class and to submit assignments up to two weeks following the course. 

 

**=Technically, this will be scheduled as a Spring semester course, so you might not be able to register for it right away.  However, I wanted to present the dates to help with your planning. 

 

Guidelines for Using Prague Courses in Your Philly Program

 

  1. Students may take only one course (3 credits) in Prague to count toward their Professional Communication degree. 
  2. All the courses to be counted in the Philadelphia program should be approved by Dr. Richard Goedkoop prior to registration.  Most courses that have a current La Salle course number should count in the program. 

The major exception relates to core classes (e.g., Ethics, Research Methods) taught by faculty members hired by UNYP in Prague.  We cannot expect foreign faculty to write and evaluate comprehensive exam questions.  However, if the core class is taught by a La Salle faculty member (e.g., Marianne Dainton teaching Research Methods), then the La Salle faculty member could write a comps question based on the Prague course.   

  1. Unless approved by Dr. Goedkoop, the Prague writing classes will count as elective courses, and not as a replacement for COM  603, Professional Writing. 
  2. A student could not write a comprehensive exam for any elective course taught by a Prague instructor. 
  3. Students may not complete the Practicum in Prague. 

 

These guidelines are for the current semester only, and may change upon future review. 

Steps to Registration

 

1.       Choose a course and gain approval from Dr. Goedkoop. 

2.       Complete a registration form and submit it to Edie.   When you receive a bill from the University, it should say “exempt” on it, and the tuition due should be zero.  If not, please contact Mike Smith immediately. 

3.       Sign a University waiver for travel-study students, available from Edie or Mike Smith. 

4.       Make plans to purchase course materials.  You can contact Mike Smith for information about the required readings and/or books.  You will likely have to order the books via Amazon or some other service.

5.       Make sure you have a valid passport. 

6.       Make travel plans.  You are responsible for air fare, lodging, meals, and other incidental expenses associated with your trip to Prague.  You can contact Mike for more travel information.  However, be advised that Mike is not a travel agent and cannot provide detailed information about sightseeing in Prague. 

 

Resources

 

A variety of links to program and travel information may be found at the following Web site:  http://www.lasalle.edu/~msmith/praha.htm